Anybody get any mileage out of the reworking-cover-songs-in-your-own-style thing?

[wheresgrant3]

Footloose is probably one of the only 80's song still working in our setlist. We sorta limp through an 80's medley until we get to more solid ground. Footloose is about the only song that really spikes. It's a;; in the delivery though... we're playing it at 140 bpm... in between a slew of songs at that same tempo and we're 2 verse/2 chorus and out. To play the song any slower or in it's entirety and lameness sets in real quick.

[jeff42]

Footloose is probably one of the only 80's song still working in our setlist. We sorta limp through an 80's medley until we get to more solid ground. Footloose is about the only song that really spikes. It's a;; in the delivery though... we're playing it at 140 bpm... in between a slew of songs at that same tempo and we're 2 verse/2 chorus and out. To play the song any slower or in it's entirety and lameness sets in real quick.

 

 

that's kind of what this band did. It was faster and it was in a medley and God I feel old cuz I CAN'T remember the name of the band... they were an agency band (bunch of 20 somethings) not great but "sold it" really well.

[pickinatit]

Footloose is one of those songs that people can't help but moving their feet to IMO. I don't think I'd slow it down though. if you ask me the tempo/energy is the thing that makes the feet have to move.

Guido, I can understand a band even as good as yours having trouble playing "Footloose" well. I think it's just one of those songs that seems simpler then it is but is really a pretty hard song for any cover band to do justice to.

[TIMKEYS]

We played it a couple of times and got a really good reaction to it. We didn't play it very well , however, so we dumped it.

 

 

We get good reactions from slow turning. Bump up the tempo a touch. It seems like it would be an easy song to mash as well.

[tlbonehead]

I've seen a party band get a huge reaction from Footloose... seriously. If delivered in a "fun" way it kills.

I guess I keep thinking in terms of gigging rock/blues bands, not variety acts. There aren't a lot of variety bands around here.

[Vito Corleone]

 

Guido, I can understand a band even as good as yours having trouble playing "Footloose" well. I think it's just one of those songs that seems simpler then it is but is really a pretty hard song for any cover band to do justice to.

 

 

Yeah, it's harder than it sounds to do 'right'...at least it was for us anyway. Some songs just fit some bands better than others and we were couldn't get it to groove the way it needed to and so dropped it after a couple of performances.

 

Would be a great song for a band to do with a full horn section and all that though.

[Vito Corleone]

 

We get good reactions from slow turning. Bump up the tempo a touch. It seems like it would be an easy song to mash as well.

 

 

Yeah. We just have a couple of others that already fit that slot in the set list, so I don't feel the need to revisit it. After reading this thread I went back and looked at our setlist and we actually still have more 80s songs that work really well for us than most bands seem to. I guess it's part of the "all ages" deal, but we're probably doing at least a dozen 80s songs nightly:

 

Billie Jean

Your Love

Jessie's Girl

Jenny Jenny

Rebel Yell

Walking On Sunshine

I Love Rock n Roll

Jump

Love Shack

You Shook Me All Night Long

Livin' On A Prayer

Pour Some Sugar On Me

Any Way You Want It

Don't Stop Believin'

Sweet Child of Mine

 

 

Those are all still very solid numbers for us.

[3shiftgtr]

It sounds like the OP is looking to do it as an act, rather than put a few re works in a set. And if that is the case, there is just no formula.....

 

In the late 90's there was a band that came thru nashville that Limp Bizkit-ized everything.....and there was a line around the block.

 

Some top notch Nashville songwriters did a thing exactly like what the OP is talking about, old pop tunes and making em country.....if I remember it correctly they called themselves Nashville Redux and the flopped like the octomom's labia....

[Vito Corleone]

It sounds like the OP is looking to do it as an act, rather than put a few re works in a set. And if that is the case, there is just no formula.....

 

 

Yep. It'd all be in the execution. Two bands doing the exact same thing might have polar-opposite results depending on the arrangements and the persona of the band/frontman.

 

A lot of these kind of things come down to the 'sell' and the presentation.

[TIMKEYS]

Yeah. We just have a couple of others that already fit that slot in the set list, so I don't feel the need to revisit it. After reading this thread I went back and looked at our setlist and we actually still have more 80s songs that work really well for us than most bands seem to. I guess it's part of the "all ages" deal, but we're probably doing at least a dozen 80s songs nightly: Billie Jean Your Love Jessie's Girl Jenny Jenny Rebel Yell Walking On Sunshine I Love Rock n Roll Jump Love Shack You Shook Me All Night Long Livin' On A Prayer Pour Some Sugar On Me Any Way You Want It Don't Stop Believin' Sweet Child of Mine Those are all still very solid numbers for us.

 

 

Our bread and butter is songwriter stuff. Hiat fits into our MO

[stratotastic]

It sounds like the OP is looking to do it as an act, rather than put a few re works in a set. And if that is the case, there is just no formula..... In the late 90's there was a band that came thru nashville that Limp Bizkit-ized everything.....and there was a line around the block. Some top notch Nashville songwriters did a thing exactly like what the OP is talking about, old pop tunes and making em country.....if I remember it correctly they called themselves Nashville Redux and the flopped like the octomom's labia....

Actually I don't know what these guys want to do. I think it was just one of many unfocused ideas they have, but I thought a cool one for discussion. It's just a startup band, but it's low pressure, they're cool, and I would get to play my Tele and do lots of solos which would be fun. But every time they ask me for song suggestions I keep going back to popular stuff. I think it's starting to piss them off. But I'm the only one of those guys that's been around the block at all and has a decent idea what will go over.

Their main focus is Americana, but they're picking just these horribly unknown songs from unknown bands. It's good music, but nobody anywhere around here will have heard of probably 90% of them. Among these, the Old 97s or the Bottle Rockets are the best known. Yeah... The first time they asked me for songs I tried slipping in some stuff like Jason Aldean, Zac Brown, etc. that people have actually heard. Shot down as they don't want to do "new country."



I feel like saying, just don't sing it with a Southern accent and you have Americana!

[wheresgrant3]

Actually I don't know what these guys want to do. I think it was just one of many unfocused ideas they have, but I thought a cool one for discussion. It's just a startup band, but it's low pressure, they're cool, and I would get to play my Tele and do lots of solos which would be fun. But every time they ask me for song suggestions I keep going back to popular stuff. I think it's starting to piss them off. But I'm the only one of those guys that's been around the block at all and has a decent idea what will go over. Their main focus is Americana, but they're picking just these horribly unknown songs from unknown bands. It's good music, but nobody anywhere around here will have heard of probably 90% of them. Among these, the Old 97s or the Bottle Rockets are the best known. Yeah... The first time they asked me for songs I tried slipping in some stuff like Jason Aldean, Zac Brown, etc. that people have actually heard. Shot down as they don't want to do "new country." I feel like saying, just don't sing it with a Southern accent and you have Americana!

 

 

I don't mean this as a dig. I'm just curious. I don't know the Philly market all that well.. I'm familar with some of the bigger rooms... but I'm guessing it's not much different from NY and New England? Where do they think they'll be able to book this act? Coffeehouses and open mic events?

[tlbonehead]

Actually I don't know what these guys want to do. I think it was just one of many unfocused ideas they have, but I thought a cool one for discussion. It's just a startup band, but it's low pressure, they're cool, and I would get to play my Tele and do lots of solos which would be fun. But every time they ask me for song suggestions I keep going back to popular stuff. I think it's starting to piss them off. But I'm the only one of those guys that's been around the block at all and has a decent idea what will go over. Their main focus is Americana, but they're picking just these horribly unknown songs from unknown bands. It's good music, but nobody anywhere around here will have heard of probably 90% of them. Among these, the Old 97s or the Bottle Rockets are the best known. Yeah... The first time they asked me for songs I tried slipping in some stuff like Jason Aldean, Zac Brown, etc. that people have actually heard. Shot down as they don't want to do "new country." I feel like saying, just don't sing it with a Southern accent and you have Americana!

we still have a couple of Bottle Rockets songs in our set lists.

[Vermoulian]

Personally I would look at it as a cult of personality thing. In other words if THIS GUY has good looks, charisma, has a lot of girl 'friends' that would follow him, and is awesomly talented then it could work. Otherwise IMO the chances are slim. Old 80's b-side refurbished doesn't sound like a good business plan unless this guy would bring the girls in based on his own personal appeal.

 

 

I think New Trail hit it on the head here.

 

If you're a cover band, there are two bases on which people might decide to go to your gig. First, you play music they like. Second, you put on a show that entertains them. The most successful bands do both, but, you can do just fine doing one or the other, but you will fail dismally if you do neither. If a band doesn't want to play well-known songs, then they damn well better do SOMETHING that will cause people to want to see them regardless of what they're playing. And that will take more than just playing a "good" song well. If you have a very charismatic and/or attractive front person who can engage the crowd, that might work. Zany on-stage antics, choreography, sexy dancing girls, all might do the trick. But I somehow doubt that a group of people into "Americana" would condescend to such blatant showmanship.

 

It's been said so often here that it is a truism to forum regulars, but a lot of the rest of the world still has not gotten the memo: approaching a band with the idea that you are going to educate the masses and enlighten them with your awesome b-sides and deep cuts from artists they've never heard . . . that's a recipe for failure. When you've got a dedicated following you can maybe pull of some of that, but first you need to GET the dedicated following, and you don't do it that way.

 

It appears that this is something that a lot of people just can't be told; the only way for them to learn it is the hard way. And, some people have their own musical superiority as a central part of their self-image, and won't let that take a back seat to putting on an entertaining show that people want to see. It can in fact validate that image: i.e., the masses have {censored}ty taste; the masses don't like my band; ergo, my band is not {censored}ty. (A fallacy, but still.) I really think some people believe that if they do something most people like, it means they are no good.

 

In music, there's always an exception to everything, and I don't know anything about the other people in this potential band, particularly what the front person is like, but, the attitude they're displaying appears to be an unsophisticated and naive one. Unless you'd be happy in this project even if it never goes anywhere, I'd steer clear, because it probably won't.

[Kramerguy]

I always thought the idea of remaking an old favorite with a new spin was something original bands did to maintain their "original" status while also being able to effectively sneak a cover into the mix, such as the way Van Halen did it. Other than that, I think it's a huge mistake for a cover band to focus on it.

[stratotastic]

I always thought the idea of remaking an old favorite with a new spin was something original bands did to maintain their "original" status while also being able to effectively sneak a cover into the mix, such as the way Van Halen did it. Other than that, I think it's a huge mistake for a cover band to focus on it.

 

 

Well the Hayseed Dixie type of thing is cool. Just make it so outlandish (and also be able to play your asses off) that the novelty carries it. Not sure if this band has this type of potential though...

[tlbonehead]

Yup, but I'm sure they're not the most recognizable band of all the others you cover.QUOTE]

 

 

no but they are far more recognizeable than some of the bands we cover.

[tlbonehead]

I always thought the idea of remaking an old favorite with a new spin was something original bands did to maintain their "original" status while also being able to effectively sneak a cover into the mix, such as the way Van Halen did it. Other than that, I think it's a huge mistake for a cover band to focus on it.

we'll just have to disagree on this one.

[stratotastic]

no but they are far more recognizeable than some of the bands we cover.

 

 

But nonetheless, it's an entirely different scene out in rural MN compared to suburban Philadelphia. I lived in Mpls for 6 years and the thing that stuck out to me (coming from Boston at the time) was culturally it was like going back in time 10 years, and in the sticks, even further. (Don't take offense--I actually liked that in many, many ways.)

[tlbonehead]

But nonetheless, it's an entirely different scene out in rural MN compared to suburban Philadelphia. I lived in Mpls for 6 years and the thing that stuck out to me (coming from Boston at the time) was culturally it was like going back in time 10 years, and in the sticks, even further. (Don't take offense--I actually liked that in many, many ways.)

I would disagree with that. I think it is more a case of not really worrying about fads and trends than actually being behind them. And as far as musically, I would disagree even more so. I do agree that it is certainly a very different scene though.